In 2001 when the US government announced that it would be releasing a video game to boost recruitment into the US Army everyone went berserk. And back then it was an okay game. The graphics were good, the game play was very inviting indeed and the weapons were something to die for (excuse the pun). Now however, the body that is America’s Army lies on the ‘Bridge Map’ riddled in bullet holes as a grenade tumbles through the air in its direction.

It deserves it too. They should have left it as it was instead of releasing an updated version and jumping into the console market. By dashing out into the competitive market and straying away from their educational (promotional) cause they effectively walked out into a barrage of criticisms and competition.

Now, the graphics and game play are outdated, so much so that the sight of the smoke from smoke grenades or what should be an RPG is like a dash of salt to the eyeballs.

What were they thinking?

To be honest, I think that AA just wanted to see how far they could push the boat out. By getting into the bedroom of every teenage male in America as other video games do they increased their odds of bagging a new recruit. But as a video game that is lacking in some fundamental military realness such as gore, effective use of vehicles and a proper command system – it fails where other privately made games succeed. All it has is its official stamp; nothing more.